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First Coast Gears: Aftermarket infotainment systems really rock

Bill Bortzfield checks out some popular units and settles on one for his 2008 VW Eos

Photos by Bill.Bortzfield@jacksonville.com The installation took Bill Bortzfield about an hour. An experienced stereo installer could do it in a half-hour or less, thanks to a customized wiring harness that directly plugs into the factory harness connector.

The AM/FM radio display features large, easy-to-use touch presets and controls along with physical control buttons and dials for volume and tuning.

The Eonon's homescreen features drag-and-drop icons, like smartphones.

The Miracast function "mirrors" the display of compatible smartphones and tablets on the 8-inch screen of the Eonon. All apps will display, although apps that don't support landscape mode will show black bars. It takes about 45 seconds to establish the Miracast Wi-Fi connection. A Nexus 4 with Android 4.4 was used for testing. Miracast worked well for the most part, but the Nexus did freeze up or drop the connection several times during the first month of use.

The Miracast function "mirrors" the display of compatible smartphones and tablets on the 8-inch screen of the Eonon. The Slacker Android app is pictured streaming to the head unit.

Like smartphones, the infotainment systems found in today’s cars are advancing at an incredible pace. The problem is most of us can’t afford to replace our cars every two years to keep up with the changes.

The other issue is cost. To get the latest and greatest in a new car you often have to step up to an option package than can add $1,500 or more to the price along with other options you may not want.

Enter the aftermarket.

Aftermarket head units are nothing new but many are expensive, complex to install and don’t offer that OEM (original equipment manufacturer) look. Thanks to the Internet, good-looking, low-priced alternatives are out there.

Today we’ll look at an installation I recently did. Total investment: $380, including shipping and tariff.

I own a base-model 2008 VW Eos that I bought new. I installed a Kenwood DNX5120 within a month of buying the car to add Bluetooth, navigation and some other goodies. But after five years, the DVD player's eject button stopped working and the maps became woefully outdated.

After some research, I settled on buying a new head unit from Eonon, a Chinese stereo maker. Eonon makes OEM-style head units for many BMWs, Fords, Toyotas, VWs and some other major car brands. Screen sizes go up to 8 inches, which is what I purchased.

The Eonon GM5153 install was plug-n-play simple since Eonon includes factory-matched wiring harnesses with its stereos, eliminating the spaghetti mess of wire splicing that installers have to navigate with other after-market units.

The Eonon is powered by Windows CE 6, which is the same basic operating system (OS) that manufacturers like Ford, Toyota and Fiat use in their infotainment systems. Each automaker builds custom skins and features on top of the OS, so you’d never know Microsoft code is making it all work.

The Eonon’s killer feature is Miracast, an emerging standard that lets you “mirror” your smartphone or tablet on the infotainment unit's screen, with the audio going through your car’s speakers. The latest versions of iOS, Android and Windows support Miracast with Windows Phone expected to add support in its 8.1 spring update. However, just because the major platforms support Miracast, that doesn’t mean your phone or tablet has it. You'll find a list of supported devices at http://bit.ly/1cLBdng.

As for performance, the Eonon boots up fast and has no lag, even when navigation is in use.

Miracast works as advertised, establishing a Wi-Fi connection that also provides better audio quality than a Bluetooth connection. I was able to stream Pandora, Slacker, Live 365, Netflix (while parked) and every other Android app I tried.

But the Eonon isn’t perfect. My unit had a defect. The clock doesn’t display an accurate time until the GPS syncs up, which can be anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes. Radio reception, while fine around town, isn’t as strong as the Kenwood and the on-screen phonebook doesn’t offer presets.

I’d also consider Miracast a beta product, at least on my last-generation Nexus 4, which dropped the Wi-Fi connection several times during my first month of testing.

The Eonon came with Kudos Navigation on an SD card. Kudos, while adequate, is not the best available. But that’s the beauty of Windows CE and Miracast. If I so choose, I can upgrade to any navigation software that supports Windows CE, such as iGo or Garmin. I’ve also used Google Maps via the Miracast connection.

The graphics, features and response times are better than you’d find in some new factory units. Sound quality matched my original factory unit and the Kenwood.

Eonon also includes some thoughtful touches. The stereo remembers preset volumes for every source. When I switch sources between the radio, DVD, USB, Bluetooth and Miracast, I didn't need to re-adjust the volume to compensate for different audio output levels.

The stereo also offers a good mix between analog controls and the touchscreen. Wallpapers and control colors can be customized to match or contrast with your car’s dashboard color. Like smartphones, you can drag the icons around on the home screen.

The bottom line: The Eonon units aren’t for everyone. They don’t offer HD radio or integrated satellite radio. The unit I purchased doesn't have voice recognition although some Eonon units offer voice control as an option. But if you want to add some polished pizazz to your ride at a very low price, Eonon is hard to beat.